So… I think I need to go on a corporate social media diet.

Manfred

@linux_mclinuxface I definitely like the idea of another device that's used infrequently, and you put all the "dangerous" apps on there. "I'm picking up the unhealthy phone" might help be more intentional about it.

Also idk if iOS has it, but Android has a way to set time limits for apps. The "Digital Wellbeing" app has been useful for me during phases where I needed harder limits on screen time.

Kyle Davis

@bouncing so you still WhatsApp on your phone?

I definitely don’t have an addiction to that but it’d be nice to have a Meta free phone.

Ken Kinder :clubtwit:

@linux_mclinuxface I do. Unfortunately WhatsApp is the default in Portugal. It’s just what everyone uses, for everything and to not use it would be almost akin to not having a phone at all.

Kyle Davis

@bouncing I’ve definitely experienced that in South Africa and Spain.

Here in Canada it’s common but not ubiquitous.

Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm)

@linux_mclinuxface

I’d love to get rid of FB altogether but have family/friends there who ate important to me. Have greatly reduced opening. Simple scaffold that helps me was to move FB on my phone into a Meta folder. On laptop I only open FB on a browser I use for nothing else — and open it rarely. Almost every “friend” on FB I know IRL and have hugged. This community was personally very supportive when my partner had a major heart attack Christmas Day.

Kyle Davis

@nocoursewalks i think there are similar mechanisms on iOS but i know myself and ill just change the setting if I’m motivated.

But, idk, having a device that I physically need to pickup seems more effective and I can… leave it in another room. I guess I’m lazy?

Kyle Davis

@stepheneb totally get it.

If I didn’t recently become a father, it would be easier to ditch.

Aside from the psychological toxicity, I distrust Meta and I’d rather not expose anything else on my device. Too many tracking mechanisms that that are easy to expose, so a folder doesn’t seem strong enough.

Kyle Davis

@dustinrue I assume you mean mobile safari?

But yeah, there are practical considerations.

Dustin Rue

@linux_mclinuxface I do mean mobile safari. Telling mobile safari to request the desktop site solves a lot of BS with a lot of sites

Kyle Davis

@dustinrue how is the browsing experience? Zoom and pan or is it responsive enough for to be useful?

John McLear

@linux_mclinuxface Haven't used any Meta stuff in ages (maybe 5 years?). People call me or Signal / SMS me or turn up at my doorstep...

Mastodon is as "deep" as I go into socials and it isn't overly needy on my time..

It was probably the best decision of my life, I have so few distractions this way

Kyle Davis

@johnmclear I love that I can sit mastodon down for days and not get manufactured notifications like FB (and LinkedIn, which is the worst about this).

Kris Freedain 🙏 🏋🏻 🍕

@linux_mclinuxface my wife and I are evaluating this right now as well. I've successfully avoided WhatsApp. Instagram is likely the most challenging for me, FB for her. I remember my travels thru Insta, & keep up with old friends/family thru FB.

Currently, we're off the platforms for a week to gauge things & evaluate their usefulness.

Kyle Davis

@krisfreedain you’re lucky: WhatsApp would be super hard. I have family and neighbors who don’t want any other type of messages.

Chris Huck :freecad: :ubuntu:

@linux_mclinuxface I’m in the process of gathering all of the information I want to save (mostly pictures) from FB and IG so that I can delete those accounts. I haven’t posted anything on FB for 5.5 years. So, it’s not a big loss. Sadly, some of my family are in the MAGA camp, and I don’t have time for that negativity. I barely open the app except when I get the weird notifications, just to make sure it’s what I think it is.

Kyle Davis

@chrishuck I also haven’t posted anything on my timeline in… months or years.

Weirdly, I don’t see flag waving maga BS on FB even though the majority of my ‘friends’ are in the US (I was using it the most when I lived in the states).

The toxicity for me has to do with zombie scrolling - I’d guess 90% of my feed is groups and suggested content. And it is actually quite well tuned - I get a consistent hit of mild dopamine. It sucks away time.

Marketplace though: i legit use and enjoy that.

Chris Huck :freecad: :ubuntu:

@linux_mclinuxface I’ve used Marketplace once, and it worked out fine, but there’s something about it that feels skeezy to me. I have no problem with eBay, and I’ve bought/sold lots of things there since 2000. I catch myself zombie scrolling on IG because it will just keep feeding you stuff. When it comes to Mastodon, I go until I get caught up on my feed and then walk away. It’s filled with things I really care about anyway.